Baby Steps

I was awakened yesterday morning to an unfamiliar noise in the hallway. I realized quite quickly that my husband and cat were in bed with me so the sound I was hearing could only be my son. Sure enough, her had climbed out of his crib and was traipsing around the house in nothing but a diaper. This struck fear in my heart. You see, he is a clever young boy and I am quite certain that I didn't here him he would have the capability to wreak havoc on my home and/or cause himself great bodily harm. Toddler Proofing has commenced, starting with reversing the lock on his door so that it is on the outside. Maybe that is cruel to lock his door, but I would rather have an upset child than a injured one. We also brought out our old friend, the baby monitor. All I can say is that the days of sleeping in while he entertains himself in his crib are a thing of the past.

In other fiber related news, my knitting time is being seriously cramped because my husband and I are making a 50th Anniversary Cake for my In-laws party this weekend. I have managed to get a couple projects off the needles. The first is the Coronet Hat and coordinating scarf.






Pattern: Coronet from Knitty.com
Yarn: Lion Suede from Lionbrand in Taupe (2 Skeins)
Needles: Knitpicks Harmony Size 4.

I am not usually a fan of Lionbrand Yarns but this is an exception to the rule. It knits up quickly and feels so nice. I especially like how nicely it holds a cable, making the braid look nice and crisp. I would like to design a cardigan with a braid in the center using this yarn. The hat pattern required some modifications to make it work with the bulky yarn. I cast on 10 stitches instead of 17 for the band. instead of the braid being broken up into 3 sets of 3 sts, I reduced it to 3 sets of 2 sts. Click here for more information about my modifications, including the cable band stitch pattern rewritten.

The second project that came off my needles yesterday is my Fleegle Socks.






Pattern: Fleegle No Hassle Sock Pattern
Yarn: Knitpicks Sock Blank, hand dyed (less than 1 blank)
Needles: Addi turbo, size 1

Way back during the summer the girls got together to dye these sock blanks and we had a blast (and stayed up too late and drank too much alcohol). Well, I cast these socks on for the Ravelympics 2008 in August. I failed miserably at finishing them before the flame was extinguished in Beijing, but at least I got them done before the next Olympic games so I am not a complete failure. I love, love, love this pattern. It is so easy to do using the Magic Loop method. I am not in love with the bind off. The pattern calls for the EZ sewn bind off. It is easy to do, but I find it a little rigid at the cuff. I will have to look around for a more flexible bind off method for toe up socks.

All-in-all, I am making baby steps toward my resolutions to finish ongoing projects. Hopefully I will also get some time soon to work on organization of the craft room.